In the new issue of Regulation, economist Pierre Lemieux argues that the recent oil price decline is at least partly the result of increased supply from the extraction of shale oil. The increased supply allows the economy to produce more goods, which benefits some people, if not all of them. Thus, contrary to some commentary in the press, cheaper oil prices cannot harm the economy as a whole.

Two long wars, chronic deficits, the financial crisis, the costly drug war, the growth of executive power under Presidents Bush and Obama, and the revelations about NSA abuses, have given rise to a growing libertarian movement in our country – with a greater focus on individual liberty and less government power. David Boaz’s newly released The Libertarian Mind is a comprehensive guide to the history, philosophy, and growth of the libertarian movement, with incisive analyses of today’s most pressing issues and policies.

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Government Far Too Intrusive

The Bible tells us that not a sparrow falls but that God knows about it. Some people in Washington think the federal government’s relationship with Americans should be just as all-encompassing.

The latest example is the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of compact-disc prices. Did you know that CDs cost different amounts at different stores? Well the FTC has noticed, and it’s very concerned.

Now it’s easy to point out that CDs cost more at full-service music stores like Tower Records and Sam Goody’s and less at discount stores like Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Of course, music stores carry a wider selection of CDs and even have clerks who know something about music.

At Tower you can tell the clerk what you like, ask what else might appeal to you and then listen to a sample.Try asking a Wal-Mart clerk whether Aerosmith’s new CD is as good as the group’s classic albums.

But the real issue here is the sheer arrogance of Washington today. Too many people in the political class seem to think that every action in a nation of 260 million individuals is a proper subject for their attention. The FTC’s investigation is a perfect example, but it is hardly unique.

Consider the bill sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Alfonse D’Amato, R-N.Y., that would prohibit banks from charging fees to non-customers who use their automatic teller machines. D’Amato says, “Congress should not condone ATM surcharging.” He seems to believe that Congress must roam across America, looking for activities that cannot be condoned — like providing people a useful service for a price—because Congress has some sort of responsibility for every activity in our society.

D’Amato’s bill is a good opportunity to think about the relative contributions of banks and senators to our lives. Civil society hampered at every turn by petty political rules, takes thousands of years to develop the technology, the complex market mechanisms and the levels of trust necessary for individuals to be able to get cash, at midnight, in an airport or a 7-Eleven, thousands of miles from home, from a bank that they do no other business with—and members of Congress decide that the bank shouldn’t be able to charge a dollar for that service.

Most of the social problems that people have faced throughout history have been ameliorated or solved through the voluntary workings of civil society and the market process, not through government.